Hard to Say Goodbye
by Tprinces
Summary: The day is done, and after today, so are the Titans...


This is my farewell tribute to the Titans.

**Hard to Say Goodbye**

Richard Grayson looked at himself in the mirror, not as Robin, but as Nightwing. His newly made suit fitted him like a glove, though a part of him wished it didn't.

_What am I thinking?_ he asked himself, angrily. _I'm not the leader of the Teen Titans, anymore. Hell, I'm not even a teen! I'm 21! Ok, just calm down_…

He sighed as he put his Robin uniform, neatly folded, in a trunk. He felt like he was putting part of himself in that trunk, too.

The entire day had been like this. Edgy, painful, sad…

Today was the day the Titans were quitting, retiring, throwing in the towel…

They were all in their early twenties or late teens. They were much too old to be Titans anymore. And besides, with all of the casualties… first Terra, then Redstar, then Kole and Gnnark…. The list was too long… too many wonderful people… gone…

He heard a faint knock at the door.

"Dick?" said a soft, angelic voice from behind the door.

He opened up the door to see Starfire standing there. She was now at the ripe age of twenty and had grown much over the past years. Her auburn hair had grown to her ankles and had developed luscious curls that gently brushed against her face and body. Her outfit, also, had changed. Instead of an Earth-like mini skirt and mid-drift top, she wore a more traditional dress of her planet. She now wore two Tameranian fabric strips that went down her torso and connected at a button that also connected panty-like shorts. And with it, knee-high purple boots. God, she was beautiful.

"Yes, Kori?" said Dick. They had become more casual with each other over the years and only referred to each other as "Robin and Starfire" in public.

"Perhaps you wish to spend the rest of the afternoon with us?" she asked, sweetly. "We do, after all, only have an hour before they bulldoze the Tower."

He sighed.

"Sure."

They walked down the hall together until they got to the Opps Room where Garfield Login, Raven Roth and Victor Stone were waiting – without making eye-contact to one-another. Now more then ever, Dick believed the song Friends Never Say Goodbye.

Raven sat, levitating in one corner of the room. She was now twenty one and lean and slender. Instead of her old, indigo cloak, she was draped in pure white with a dress to match. Her hood now covered, not only her eyes, but now her entire face. The only thing that was visible under her hood were two, shimmering earrings hand-crafted by the monks of Azerath. She no longer had a belt, and wore high-heels.

Across the way from Raven was Victor, who was now twenty four. Victor had grown to be quite the large man. He had to go in almost every month to be re-fitted for larger mechanical parts. He had let his hair grow and had a small afro on the right side of his head. His computerized armor had been updated so it now shown bright silver and white. And there was a metal band that went around the left side of his head and through his hair.

Garfield, who had now changed his name to Changeling, was looking out the window. He was the only one still in his teens, at the age of eight teen. He had grown long and gangly, but was still no match for Victor, high-wise. He had actually figured out how to use a comb and his bangs were now resting on the right side of his forehead. His ears had lost their pointed nature and became regularly shaped. He had also changed his costume from purple and black to red and white.

The Opps Room made a sorry sight. Everything was taken off and out. In fact, the only material objects that were there were five different sets of suitcases by the door. The couch wasn't even there.

As they walked into the noticeably silent room, Dick suddenly became overwhelmed with memories.

He looked over at the place where the plasma TV once stood.

He smiled.

"Hey," he said. Everyone looked at him; his voice was like a beginning ripple in a pond. "Remember the night we watched Wicked Scary?"

They looked at each other and an all too familiar grin spread over Gar's face.

"Yeah," he said. "And Raven was scared to death!"

"Don't make me hurt you," she said.

Gar simply stuck out his tongue and Vic gave a chuckle.

" Member when Gar and I would fight over whose turn it was on the Gamestation?" he said.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that," said Dick. "I had to play metal just to drown you guys out! And that wasn't even close to working!"

"You guys were such pin-heads," said Rea.

"Well," said Gar, "at least _we_ didn't suffer from schizophrenia!"

"I already told you," she exasperated, "I'm not schizophrenic, I'm an empath."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Do any of you remember when we went on our last picnic?" said Kori.

Dick actually laughed.

"How could I forget the day you first tasted mustard?"

They all looked at one-another, smiling. Then, slowly, they ebbed into their depressive state, once again.

Dick looked around. Everywhere was a memory… everywhere some kind of mental photograph… and now it's gone… all gone…

The day they started the Titans… the many laughs… and fights… so many… their first Christmas… Halloween… birthdays… failed cooking experiences… when they were introduced to Blorthog… and how he promised they'd be friends forever…

He needed air; all of this was suffocating his thoughts. So, he left the Opps Room and went up the stairs onto the roof top. Kori looked helplessly as he walked out. She looked over at Raven who gave her the mental urge to follow him. She did.

Once she got to the roof, she cracked the door a bit to see Richard watching the sun set. The red sun reflected off of his firm figure and strong facial features, now throttled with doubt and sadness.

She walked over to him and sat down. He looked over at her. The wind ran through her long, red hair and the pink and purple background illuminated her soft disposition. God, how she could make him feel.

"Are you lonely?" she asked.

He looked down at the water. The light reflected causing the sea to shimmer on the Tower.

"I just can't believe they're gonna take this place down for a _fishing area_."

She sighed and looked at the water as well.

"So where will you be going?" she asked. He thought for a bit.

"Gotham, probably. I think I'll start a Detective Agency. 'Dick Grayson, Privet Eye'; I like it."

"I like 'Robin, Boy Wonder' better."

"Kori, those days are over. We need to move on."

She put her head in her hand and started to cry. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close as she sobbed on his shoulder. They sat there until she had calmed down and the stars had appeared, one by one. It was getting close to crunch time; they had about thirty minutes left.

"I have no where to go," she said.

"What?"

"When I chose Earth over Tamaran, I was banned. This is my only home, now."

"Well, why not come with me?"

She sat there, thinking. Then, out of nowhere she said "I loved the sunsets here."

He looked at her.

"I still love _everything_ I used to."

He smiled, softly and they sat there, quietly, until it was time to leave the Tower for the last time.

Ok, that was my good-bye contribution to the Titans. HOWEVER THE TITANS ARE NOT COMPLETELY GONE! They're coming out with a movie between, like, 2006 and 2007. And this, also, is not my last TT story. I will probably write others. Oh, and one more thing… THIS IS A ONE SHOT! That means I'm not going to do another chapter, sorry! So please don't ask me; it makes me feel bad. : (

R&R!

T.


End file.
